


A Language of Their Own

by spiralxshock



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, M/M, really cute angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 15:11:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14115066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiralxshock/pseuds/spiralxshock
Summary: A fic based on some of Tumblr User hugbugbear’s Davenchurch headcanons! Not knowing Common, Davenport and Merle make a sign language all their own, and it’s one thing Fisher didn’t take from them.





	A Language of Their Own

**Author's Note:**

> If y’all like this fic, check out hugbugbear on Tumblr! They’re awesone, and have some hella headcanons!

The scariest thing was not expecting anything to happen. Davenport had been out, wandering round trying to find where the twins had run off to. He’d just rounded a bend into a clearing when....

BOOM.

He was sent sprawling as the tree beside him exploded. Davenport lifted his arms and shut his eyes, trying to shield himself from the wooden shrapnel as he slammed into the ground. The world around him was drowned out by ringing. Gods his ears... he covered him with his hands but the ringing stayed. Then there were hands on him. He tried to pull away.

“Captain? Captain!” It was the twins, they were somewhere nearby. If he could see them maybe he could get their help. His hands left his ears, they weren’t changing anything anyways, and opened his eyes to see... the twins? They were still shouting at him, but they sounded so far away.

Taako turned and said something to Lup. It looked like “We have to get him to Merle”, but... oh gods. Oh gods he couldn’t hear them. The ringing was gone now and he was left barely able to hear what was going on around him. They pulled him to his feet and helped him towards the Starblaster.

Davenport was the first to storm into the kitchen, dazed, bleeding and furious. The twins trailed in behind him. He kept going, not stopping until he entered his room and slammed the door shut as hard as he could. Not out of anger, although that was partially true, but as a test. The sound should have been loud, it should have been jarring and angry, it should have been so many things. But it was only a thud. A tightness formed in his chest. He couldn’t be almost deaf, they had a whole year to go! He’s be useless, unable to understand anyone. No... maybe there was a was. He’d been able to tell what Taako was saying, right? All he had to do was watch their mouths. Yes, that was it. But first he wanted to get some rest. For all he knew this was a temporary thing and nothing more.  
————

It wasn’t temporary, and the plan he had thought would save him fell apart. It was manageable in one on one conversations, but as soon as there was a group he would get lost. Davenport stayed quiet most days, trying to pick up any sounds he could, which weren’t many. Talking to people was too hard while trying to hide what had happened. Sure he felt bad, but at the same time he didn’t want to admit defeat. He was the captain, damn it! He shouldn’t be needing help like this!

Davenport nearly fell out of his desk chair when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around to see Merle standing there. Oh great. Merle was awful to talk to. Not that he didn’t like the dwarf, on the contrary he was quite fond of him. But the beard. That beard made it so hard to understand what the other was saying.

“Merle, I... I didn’t hear you come in.” He mumbled, staring at the other.

Merle started talking, making hand gestures Davenport didn’t quite understand. He just answered with “Yeah”s and “Mhm”s as Merle talked. Eventually the other paused, and held up a hand, saying something. A bit confused, Davenport gave him a high-five, earning what looked to be a fit of laughter from the other.

“What are you... what’s so funny?” Davenport demanded, not sure he’d hear the answer. Merle said nothing, but reached over to grab a pen and notebook from the captain’s desk. After a bit of scribbling, he held it up.

/I asked how many fingers I was holding up. You can’t hear me./

Davenport was mortified.

“Merle, listen, it’s not that bad. I swear.” Merle held up a finger and scribbled something else below his first statement.

/Do you know common sign language?/

He shook his head no. Merle shrugged.

/We can make our own./

He frowned. It was tempting, but he still wasn’t sure about it. After a minute of thinking he nodded.

“Fine. I’ll... I’ll do it. Just don’t tell anyone about it. I don’t want them knowing.”

Merle nodded, beaming happily. What had Davenport gotten himself into?  
———

The process was long and tedious, but surprisingly enjoyable. He found himself looking forward to evenings, where he and Merle would sit in his room for hours and work on their signs, sometimes just falling asleep together. It seemed like Merle had let the others know, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Davenport had feared. The others either passed him notes or made sure he could see them when they needed to tell him something.

He and Merle were able to communicate in their own way now too. The others didn’t catch on, and it was a bit shaky and broken at first, but they had done it. They had made a language of their very own that neither needed to hear for it to be understood. It was still a work in progress, not every word had a sign so they were trying to do an alphabet, but they could get by.

Towards the end of the year they were up late again, this time in Merle’s room surrounded by plants. They were having another practice conversation, silent but signing back and fourth. It was actually getting easier the more they practiced, almost second nature. Merle was close, sitting cross-legged in front of him. Their knees were touching.

Davenport wasn’t one to assume, so it made this situation almost unbearable. Part of him thought Merle was making a move in a way. He wanted so badly for whatever had been growing between them wasn’t all in his head. But logic kept him back. He didn’t want to risk anything. He wasn’t expecting Merle to make the first move.

/Dav/, he watched the dwarf sign, /I love you/.

Davenport’s face went red as he buried his face in his hands, trying to hide his smile. He felt hands on his shoulders as Merle pulled him into an embrace that Davenport gladly returned. They were both laughing. It may have been a bit strange, but he was so glad he had lost his hearing that cycle. Otherwise this wouldn’t have happened, and that was a future he’d rather not imagine.

Cycles and years later everything was gone. Well, not everything. Davenport had scraps. His name, Lucretia, a job, and scraps of a language he didn’t know the origins of.  
—————

Merle found himself wandering through the halls, trying to get out of training. He rounded the corner when someone ran into him. Merle stayed standing, but a now familiar gnome fell to the ground with a thud.

“Oh, well sorry about that.” Merle helped Davenport back his feet.

“Davenport.” His tone was relieved, almost thankful.

“Yeah no problem.” They stood in uncomfortable silence for a while before he spoke again. “Well I’ve got to, uh, go find... Magnus. Make sure Killian doesn’t do too much damage.”

Davenport nodded, and his hands started moving, forming words.

/Good luck/.

“Y... yeah...” Merle hurried off, confused. How’d he understand those signs? It was weird. They seemed... special. Those signs were theirs. Wait, no that couldn’t be right. He tried to forget about it, not knowing that behind him Davenport stood stunned, and a bit pleased he was understood.

A few weeks later he was in front of the Director, in pajamas and half asleep. Davenport was there too, sharp dressed as usual, but noticeably looking away a bit flushed. Merle didn’t think much of it considering Magnus was busy getting naked and changed beside him as the Director continued to talk strangely unaffected. Before she sent them off he saw Davenport sign something.

/Have nice trip/.

Merle grinned and found himself signing back /I have no say in the matter/.

/Die then/ was Davenport’s response. He noticed the Director looking between Davenport and himself as he laughed. He couldn’t explain it himself, but the way Davenport was beaming over being understood made that a bit of an unimportant question.

It wouldn’t be the last time those signs showed up again. In fact, after they had returned the Director pulled him aside.

“Merle, I have to ask about those signs. How... how do you know Davenport’s sign language?”

“Dunno. Think I met a gnome once who taught me, and I just thought it was common for them all.”

“Oh... I see.”

He left to go wander the halls, needing a bit of a break from the others. Sure he thought they were great, but sometimes he needed a bit of peace. In a break room tucked away in a fairly untraveled part of the bureau, he found Davenport, sitting at a table playing solitaire. He kind of jumped when Merle opened the door, giving him a worried look before calming down.

“Hey, didn’t expect to find you in here. What’re you up to?” Davenport began to sign.

/Avoiding/, he paused a moment as if he was trying to remember the next sign, /Director/.

“Well given how she treats you I can see why. I’m actually avoiding people too, mind if I join you?”

Davenport smiled and gestured to the seat across from him and began picking up the cards, shuffling them and dealing them. Merle settled into the chair, picking up the cards and beginning to play. He couldn’t remember the name of the game, but it just felt right. Like this was the game they had always played. But that didn’t really make sense... Oh well, it didn't really matter. They played for a while before Merle tried striking up a conversation.

“So... how long’ve you worked here?”

Davenport shrugged. /Whole life/.

“Ok that’s a little hard to believe, but I’ll go with it. What’d’ya think of this place anyways?”

/Nice. Clean. Going to help people. Dangerous/.

“D... dangerous? How?”

/Something coming. I Feel it/.

“You got any idea what?”

Davenport shook his head. Merle reached across and took Davenport’s hand in his own.

“Listen, Dav, nothing’s going to happen. Because we’re not gonna let it. That’s what the bureau does, right? Help people?”

Davwnport nodded, but he didn’t seem so sure. He was hiding something, but he already seemed freaked enough so there wasn’t anything to gain by pushing it. But the gnome knew something. Maybe not everything, but some part of this situation he knew that Merle and the others didn’t. They stayed that way a while, Merle’s hand over Davenport’s as he looked for a different conversation starter. He noticed an engraved band of gold around Davenport’s finger, and recognized it instantly.

“Ha! You’re ring!” Davenport looked a bit confused as Merle pulled a chain from around his neck, from which a ring hung. “It looks just like mine.”

Davemport slipped his off and they compared. Sure enough they had the same surface engravings, and each even had an engraving on the inside as well. Neither were sure what those meant, despite being able to read them. On the inside of Merle’s ring were the words “Joyfully Yours”, while Davenports’s had “My Captain.”

Neither were sure quite what it meant, but it just seemed to add to this odd feeling of familiarity Merle had with the gnome.   
Both fell suddenly silent, turning to face the door. Merle thought he’d heard something, and by the look of it Davenport had heard it too. Whatever, or whoever, it was it seemed to have left.

“Well I think I should be going.” Merle stood while Davenport slid his ring back on. “Think I could drop by again sometime?”

“Davenport.” He nodded in confirmation. Merle waved as he walked out, glad to have found some sort of getaway from the others.

Not that they didn’t notice, of course.

“Where’ve you been? We’ve been looking for you. Well, I have. Taako wasn’t much help.”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Merle shrugged. “I was hanging out with Davenport.”

“The Pokemon gnome? Bet that was a real rousing conversation.” Taako laughed, leaning back in his chair.

“Well, he says more with his hands than with his mouth.”

“Ewwwww! We don’t need to know that Merle!” Magnus looked horrified.

“That’s pretty gross, my man.”

“Sign language, you idiots!”   
—————

It becomes routine, Merle finding Davenport in some untraveled part of the base to simply sit and talk. The gnome was a puzzle even Angus couldn’t solve, but Merle never looked at it like that. He never tried to ‘solve’ Davenport, just understand who he was as a person. He found that while he wasn’t great at communication, or at times social cues, he was a sharp gnome. Very little got past him without him noticing. They grew closer and closer, leaving Merle wondering. Was this what it felt like to fall in love? This spark between the two of them was soft, warm, and... somehow familiar.

One time seemed more familiar than the rest. He was in Davenport’s room with him, signing back and fourth as they sat on the ground, knees touching. He’s mustered up the courage, so he did it.

/Dav/, he signed, /I love you/.

The way his face went red, how he buried his face in his hands as Merle pulled him into an embrace, it was all so right. He wasn’t sure why, but in a way he felt that this is where he belonged, sitting with Davenport in his arms. This was more of a home than even the beach had been.   
—————

The day the Hunger came, everything fell into place. He could remember now. Of course he knew Davenport’s sign language, they’d created it together. Of course their rings matched, they had been married for over half a century. So Merle promises himself something, and he makes good on that promise.

When they find themselves back on the ground, Hunger defeated and people celebrating, he walked right over and kissed Davenport. They were actually together again after so long.

“Merle, I... I can’t believe I forgot you. I forgot us.” His voice was soft. Merle shrugged.

“It wasn’t you’re fault. Besides, it wasn’t all that bad. I got to fall in love with you all over again.” Davenport’s face reddened as he smiled sheepishly. “And it’s not like everything was taken from us, right? We still had our sign language.”

“You’re right.” He rested his forehead on Merle’s shoulder. “We should probably still learn common, though.”

“Agreed.” Merle gave Davenport one last kiss before they were surrounded. The others had found them, and the crowd was cheering loudly, a background to their group hug.   
————-

There was only one other person they taught their sign language to. Mavis had asked when she saw them using it, and being their stepdaughter they agreed to show her.

After a number of years their ages caught up with them, and Merle’s hearing was going. It wasn’t so bad, they sill had their own sign language (as well as common). But they used their own in their house when it was just them, thinking back on the past and telling jokes.

It was almost perfect how their story ended, as both passed away the same night. Once again the whole world mourned, as it had with Magnus Burnsides and then Lucretia. Mavis designed their tombstone, which was more a monument than a grave site. There was a large tree, and in front of it was a stone statue of both of them, sitting as she had heard them describe so many times. Sitting face to face, knees touching, signing to each other. On the base above their names was etched one sentence:

 

“With a language of their own.”


End file.
